Fifth Place

"Begin announcing the rankings."

Instructor Li's voice fell.

The training ground immediately fell silent.

Firelight flickered, illuminating the red ranking list in his hands.

All eleven youths stared at that list.

Zhou Ye stood amid the crowd, his face taut.

In the second round's mountain forest sprint, he had been the first one back.

Although he had not performed particularly well in the third round, he had always believed he had already pulled far ahead in the first two rounds.

The fifth spot should have been his.

On the other side, Chen Mo was waiting too.

After three rounds, he actually had a pretty good idea of where he stood.

Wang Lie was formidable.

Zhao Chuan had performed steadily.

Zhou Ye was frighteningly fast.

As for himself...

Chen Mo truly did not have much confidence.

He quietly pinched the corner of his clothes in his hand, unable to stop himself from muttering inwardly:

"It would be great if I could get in."

Instructor Li unfolded the list.

"This assessment was divided into three rounds."

"The top five will officially become apprentices of Clear River Martial Hall."

"The remaining candidates will be placed on the reserve list. Should the martial hall have vacancies in the future, they will fill them in order."

Upon hearing the words "reserve list," many faces immediately brightened.

At least they still had a chance.

Instructor Li continued.

"First place, Wang Lie."

Low murmurs immediately rose from all around.

"As expected, it's him."

"With that strength, there's nothing to argue about."

Wang Lie stepped forward.

The instructor handed him a wooden token.

Wang Lie accepted it and returned to the crowd.

As he passed Chen Mo, he paused for a moment.

"You'll get in too."

Chen Mo blinked.

"How do you know?"

"Look at the scores."

With that, Wang Lie returned to his place.

Chen Mo rubbed his nose.

That was certainly direct enough.

"Second place, Zhao Chuan."

Zhao Chuan froze.

"Me?"

The next moment, his face blossomed into a grin.

"I knew it!"

He ran up in a few strides to collect his wooden token. When he returned, he deliberately waved it before Chen Mo.

"See that?"

Chen Mo smiled.

"I see it."

"You're officially an apprentice now."

"Alright, congratulations."

"You have to get in too."

"I'll take that as a good omen."

"Third place, Zhou Zhan."

"Fourth place, Wu Jie."

The two names were called in succession.

The atmosphere in the crowd grew tighter and tighter.

Five spots.

Only one remained.

Everyone's gazes fell on Zhou Ye and Chen Mo without prior agreement.

Zhou Ye's fingers had already clenched into fists.

Chen Mo's heart began to pound as well.

He even wanted to turn his head away and not look at the list in Instructor Li's hands.

Yet he simply could not resist.

Instructor Li lowered his head and glanced at it.

"Fifth place..."

The surroundings fell completely silent.

"Chen Mo."

Chen Mo froze.

"Huh?"

Zhao Chuan fiercely slapped his shoulder from behind.

"You made it!"

Only then did Chen Mo react.

"It's really me?"

"Of course it is!"

Zhao Chuan was smiling even more happily than he was.

Chen Mo hurriedly stepped forward.

The instructor handed him a wooden token.

The token was not large, nor was it heavy.

Yet the instant it landed in his hand, Chen Mo still could not help smiling.

"Fifth place..."

He lowered his head and looked at it.

He had really made it in.

Before, he could only stand outside the martial hall walls and listen to the sounds of fists and kicks inside.

Now, this wooden token had finally reached his hands.

Chen Mo turned around.

People in the watching crowd had already begun discussing it.

"Why him?"

"I thought it would be Zhou Ye."

"He wasn't particularly outstanding in the first two rounds either."

"He was pretty steady in the third round, though."

"Just lucky, that's all."

Hearing that last remark, the smile on Chen Mo's face faded somewhat.

Lucky?

He felt a little uncomfortable.

But before he could say anything, a voice rang out behind him.

"Instructor, I refuse to accept this."

Everyone's gazes fell on Zhou Ye once more.

Zhou Ye stepped forward.

He looked at Instructor Li.

"In the second round's mountain forest sprint, I was the first one back."

"Although I made mistakes in the third round, I wasn't that far behind."

"Why was it him in the end?"

After saying that, he looked at Chen Mo again.

"I'm not saying you shouldn't have gotten in."

"I just want to know exactly where I lost."

When he said that, Chen Mo was instead somewhat surprised.

He had originally thought Zhou Ye had come to cause trouble for him.

Now, it seemed he merely wanted an answer.

A provincial government examiner stepped forward.

"The assessment does not only look at who came back first."

"Each round had its own scoring."

"The final score was the sum of all three rounds."

Zhou Ye gritted his teeth.

"I know."

"So I want to see the total scores."

The examiner said blandly:

"You were sixth."

"Chen Mo was fifth."

"You were only one point apart."

A wave of gasps immediately rose across the training ground.

Zhou Ye's expression changed.

"One point?"

"That's right."

The examiner looked at him.

"Your speed in the second round was the fastest, but your stamina expenditure was too great, so points were deducted."

"You also made many movement errors in the third round, so points were deducted there as well."

"Although Chen Mo was not fast in the first two rounds, his route judgment, stamina allocation, and completion of the punches and kicks in the third round were all good."

"That was why he scored one point higher than you."

Zhou Ye remained silent for a long time.

At last, he lowered his head.

"I understand."

He said nothing more.

Turning around, he walked back into the crowd.

Chen Mo watched his back without saying anything either.

If it had been him, he probably would not have accepted it either.

Zhao Chuan quietly said beside him:

"Only one point apart."

Chen Mo could not help sighing.

"I never expected it myself."

Zhao Chuan grinned.

"Yesterday, you were still saying you were afraid you wouldn't get in."

"I really was afraid."

"Still afraid now?"

Chen Mo lowered his head and looked at the wooden token in his hand.

His smile slowly returned.

"Not anymore."

People around them were still talking.

Some said he had been quite lucky.

Others felt that he truly had been steady.

Chen Mo heard those words and still felt a little unconvinced.

But after thinking it over, there was no need to argue.

The wooden token was already in his hand.

This time, he had truly made it in.

Instructor Li stepped forward.

"Tomorrow at dawn, the five official apprentices are to report to the hall on time."

"Alternate apprentices are to wait at home for notification. Do not enter the martial hall without permission."

The night grew deeper.

The crowd gradually dispersed.

Zhao Chuan walked over to Chen Mo's side.

"Come on, let's go home."

The two left the martial hall shoulder to shoulder.

Along the way, Zhao Chuan was still brimming with excitement.

"I got second place."

"I know."

"An official apprentice."

"I know."

"And I got a wooden token."

Chen Mo looked at the token in his hand.

"You've been waving it around all the way here."

Zhao Chuan chuckled.

"I'm happy."

After walking a few steps, he suddenly asked:

"Chen Mo, are you happy?"

Chen Mo froze for a moment.

Then he glanced at his own wooden token.

"I'm happy."

"I thought you'd pretend to be calm."

"Why would I pretend?"

Chen Mo grinned.

"Fifth place is still a ranking."

Zhao Chuan immediately burst into laughter.

At the crossroads, the two parted ways.

"See you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow."

Chen Mo turned and headed home.

Qinghe Town was quiet in the night.

All the way home, he kept thinking about entering the martial hall tomorrow.

An official apprentice.

From now on, he could train in fist techniques under the instructors and receive things from the martial hall as well.

At least this time, he had not lost.

When he reached the courtyard gate, the lights inside were still on.

Chen Mo pushed the door open.

"Dad, Mom, I'm back."

Chen Huan was the first to run out.

"Brother!"

At a glance, she saw the wooden token in Chen Mo's hand.

"What's that?"

Chen Mo handed her the token.

"See for yourself."

Chen Huan took it and turned it over several times.

"Clear River Martial Hall!"

Her eyes lit up at once.

"Brother, did you pass?"

"Yeah."

Chen Mo nodded.

"Fifth place."

"Really?"

"Really."

Chen Huan jumped up in delight.

"Brother is a martial hall disciple now!"

Their father also came out of the room.

His gaze fell on the wooden token.

"Fifth?"

Chen Mo nodded.

"Fifth."

A smile appeared on their father's face.

"Not bad."

He raised a hand and patted Chen Mo on the shoulder.

"Now that you're in, learn properly."

"Don't just think about showing off your strength."

"Got it."

Their mother came out of the kitchen. The moment she saw the injuries on him, she frowned.

"You got hurt again?"

"They're all minor injuries."

Chen Mo hurriedly explained.

"It's nothing serious."

Chen Huan cut in from the side.

"When Brother says he's fine, it usually means something's wrong."

Chen Mo glared at her.

"When did you learn to tear down my stage?"

The whole family laughed.

Dinner was quickly reheated.

There was nothing particularly good on the table, but Chen Mo ate with exceptional relish today.

As he ate, he could not help glancing at the wooden token set beside him.

After dinner, Chen Mo helped clear away the bowls and chopsticks.

Before he returned to his room, Chen Huan chased after him again.

"Brother."

"Yeah?"

"Will you become really amazing in the future?"

Chen Mo thought for a moment.

"I'm still far from that."

"Then train hard."

"Got it."

Chen Huan nodded seriously.

"Once you become amazing, no one will dare bully our family anymore."

Chen Mo smiled and rubbed her head.

"Alright."

"Then I'll work a little harder."

That night.

Chen Mo lay on his bed, the wooden token resting beside his pillow.

He looked at it for a long while before slowly closing his eyes.

Starting tomorrow.

He would be a true apprentice of Clear River Martial Hall.